An interview with Parliament Member Dr. Ramazan Bashardost

Q: The Independent Election Commission has announced that it will implement  President Hamid Karzai’s recent legislative decree and says that all activities relating to the upcoming parliamentary elections will be organized accordingly; while the lower house of parliament has already rejected this decree. The Ministry of Justice has also said that rejection of the decree is against the Constitution and that the decree is still in force.  Why have the government and the IEC adopted such a stance?

A few days ago, the Minister of Justice was summoned to the Parliament to respond to this question. It was understood from his speech that the rejection of the decree was not against the Constitution. He said that the remarks by Mr. Halim (the head of the legislative department in the Ministry of Justice, who called the Parliament’s rejection “unconstitutional”) were his personal opinion and not the official position of the MoJ. The minister said we should wait for the decision by the upper house of Parliament in this regard. 

On the other hand, what the parliament did is reject the decree. They did not amend it, which would be in violation of the Constitution. Now we are waiting for the upper house to decide and it has a 15-day deadline. We will see whether it accepts or rejects the lower house’s decision. This is what is going on in the parliament. 

But in my opinion, there are many inconsistencies in the Constitution. According to the Constitution the parliament cannot change the electoral law in its last year of work; the reason is that the parliament should not be able to change the law in its favor. In this case, the president should also be prohibited from changing the law because there is no guarantee that he will not change it in his own favor. 

It is argued that if the parliament had the right to change the electoral law in its last year of work, the 249 Members of Parliament, the representatives of the people, would change the law for their own sake. But in such an atmosphere of mistrust, the president, who is just one person, can change the electoral law completely, and in his own favor. According to this recent legislative decree, it does not matter whether candidates for president or parliament – who represent the Afghan population of 25 million – are illiterate, and they are not obliged o present educational documents when they stand for elections. But candidates for provincial council – who have much less responsibility – should have a Bachelors degree or at least a high school certificate. 

If we accept such a process, the president could issue another legislative decree stipulating that he can run for a third term as president. According to the current legislative decree, if two presidential candidates receive equal votes in the first round of election, the IEC decides which one should become the president. In fact, this legislative decree transfers the power of the Afghan nation to the IEC.

Q: Many discussions have been continuing about the defects of the Constitution in the past years and you emphasize such defects as well; but, this Constitution is currently in effect and it is very difficult to amend. The president argues that he has issued the legislative decree according to the Constitution and you say that parliament rejected it according to the Constitution. So what is the solution now?

A: The lower house is waiting for the upper house to decide. If the upper house rejects the lower house’s decision or determines that it is against the law, the issue goes beyond the legal framework and become a political issue. Then it is time for wrestling and we will see who wins. We will see whether the Parliament kneels down before Karzai as usual or stands up to him this time. 

Q: The IEC has announced that it has organized its programs based on President Karzai’s legislative decree, even though the dispute between the executive and the legislature is still going on. Since the time for election preparation is limited, what will be the aftermath of these disputes?

A: The organization of the IEC’s programs does not have great importance. The important point is how Karzai instructs the IEC. He will order the IEC to follow the previous electoral law if he realizes that insisting on the new legislative decree may create problems for him. Before, it was said that both (Azizullah) Lodin (former head of the IEC) and Daud Ali Najafi (former head of the Secretariat) had not perpetrated fraud in the August 2009 presidential elections; but, they were both dismissed. Nothing is important here except wrestling. 

Q: Many candidates have already been registered according to the previous electoral law; now they have to reregister according to Karzai’s legislative decree, but if you win what you call “wrestling”, Karzai’s decree will be annulled. In this case, do the candidates need to register for a third time? 

A: As I mentioned before it is a wrestling game. Everything will proceed according to the legislative decree if the parliament surrenders. But if Karzai is defeated in this game, he will order the IEC to follow the previous electoral law. Nothing goes properly according to the law in Afghanistan. There would be no need for a legislative decree if things were going according to the law. Karzai had five years to change the electoral law but he did not. Both the president and the parliament work for their own benefit. 

Q: If such wrestling continues and as a result of it, the election is delayed, we will be facing the winter season. Will it then be possible to conduct universal, free and fair election?

A: None of the people’s problems will be solved, whether or not the election is held. Elections solve problems in other countries but in Afghanistan they create problems. The presidential elections created problems rather than solving them. Everyone thinks of his/her personal interests and interprets laws from his/her own eyes in Afghanistan. 

Q: You said that elections create problems in Afghanistan; but you participated in two election processes; so you did play your role in creating problems too? 
A: If I had perpetrated fraud, of course, I would have played a role. 

Q: You were also accused of perpetrating fraud. It was said that you had received 93,000 fraudulent votes in the 2009 presidential elections.
A: I was blamed for receiving such fraudulent votes by the French General Philippe Morillon. I followed this issue and sent a letter to the Attorney General’s Office. The office followed the case and as a result the European Union dismissed Mr. Morillon as head of the European Union’s observer mission. The follow-up order for this case still exists. I repeatedly asked him through the media to come to Afghanistan and prove his allegations. 

Q: Elections are an important pillar of democracy but you call them a creator of problem. Do we have an alternative? 

A: There is a big difference between fraudulent elections and real elections. In an election where there are 1.5 million fraudulent votes it is not an election. It is a ridiculous phenomenon. It is said that there are fraudulent votes even in the United States and Europe. But they do not consider that in those countries there might be 10 or 20 fraudulent votes. Both Karzai and his main challenger Dr. Abdullah have accepted that more than 1.2 million fraudulent votes were casted in favor of them.  

Q: Mr. Bashardost, would you run in the upcoming parliamentary elections under such circumstances?

A: I have not taken any decision yet.

Q: You did not decide because you believe that elections create problems, right?

A: No, I am still thinking whether I could be useful or not.